Trip to California
by lover of percabeth
Summary: This is a sequel to Percabeth anniversary, but you don't have to read it to follow along. Annabeth and Percy are going to California to visit her dad. Trouble just seemed to follow them everywhere, but that's what happens when you are the heroes of Olympus.
1. Palm springs

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**_

Annabeth looked at Percy out of the corner of her eye. Sensing her gaze he looked at her. Their eyes caught and he smiled softly at her. She grinned and went back to staring out the window. She could just see the last whisper of the sun disappearing over the horizon. The drive to California was long, but she didn't mind. It meant that she got to spend time with Percy, even if most of the time was spent in silence.

"Percy?" She asked still staring out the window.

"Yes?" He prompted her.

"Do you want to stop for the night somewhere?" She glanced at him. He scanned the road.

"Sure. Where do you want to stop?" He asked. She pointed to a hotel a little distance down the road.

"There should be fine." She said. Percy nodded and carefully parallel parked the car he had hired in New York. Luckily the car company had said that they could just drop it off in California and pick up another one on their way back. Percy opened his door and jumped out going around to the other side of the car to open the door for Annabeth. She smiled.

"What a gentlemen." She laughed. He grinned at her shutting her door. Grabbing her hand they went up to the front door of the hotel.

"The Palm Springs hotel? Creative." Percy said noting the palm trees and water fountains lining the path. Annabeth laughed and shook her head, opening the door and walking in. She tugged Percy along with her and they headed up to the reception desk, behind the desk stood a thin, brunette.

"What can I do for you?" She asked smiling at them.

"A room for two please." He asked. The receptionist nodded turning back to her computer. Annabeth's hand tightened around Percy's. He looked at her and squeezed her hand. "Ah, you can have room 609. On the sixth floor." Percy paled slightly.

"Is there a room on a lower floor that we could use instead?" He asked. The women frowned slightly, but nodded her head and checked her computer. After a few moments she turned back to them and frowned.

"I'm sorry." She said shaking her head. "They are all full. Do you still want the room? There isn't another hotel around for miles." Percy looked at Annabeth and noticed how tired she looked.

"We don't have to." She whispered. He nodded.

"It's alright." He turned back to the desk. "We'll take it." She turned and grabbed a key and a stack of papers.

"You just need to sign here and fill out your details. Then the room is all yours." She told them. Percy quickly filled out the forms and grabbed the keys off her.

"Thanks." He said. Then pulling Annabeth he headed towards the elevator. He pushed the button and they stood there in silence waiting for it to arrive. The elevator dinged as the doors opened. They stepped inside and pushed the little six button. As the doors closed Percy caught a glance of the receptionist. He blinked and the doors closed. He hoped that it was just tiredness and maybe a hallucination, but this was Percy Jackson and it most likely wasn't. She had stepped out from behind her desk so he could see her one bronze and one brown donkey leg, all she was missing was the cheerleaders uniform. An Empousa.


	2. Blue cupcakes

_**AN: Please read and review. For Allen R. Fluff.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**_

Percy glanced over at Annabeth and smiled as he took in her sleeping form on the passenger seat. The sun had begun to rise and Percy was growing tired. Annabeth stirred and a few seconds later her eyelids rose.

"Percy?" She mumbled. Percy grabbed her hand.

"Yeah?" He prompted.

"Do you want me to drive for a while?" Annabeth asked. Percy nodded stifling a yawn. He pulled over to the side of the road.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded and smiled softly at him.

"Yes, you look like your about to pass out." She teased. Percy laughed and opened his door. He got out and waked over to the passenger side of the car. Annabeth slid across to the driver's seat. Percy opened the door and plonked down on the seat. He yawned and closed his eyes. He fell asleep instantly and Annabeth laughed softly.

"Goodnight Percy." She whispered.

_-_-_-_-l_-_-_-_-

Percy blinked and opened his eyes.

"Finally awake I see." Annabeth said with a smirk. Percy smiled slightly and his stomach growled.

"Food?" He mumbled hopefully. Annabeth laughed and Percy watched her. The sun was highlighting her blonde curls and making her grey eyes sparkle. She looked over at him and caught him staring. She blushed lightly.

"Annabeth, Food." He said pointing to a small café, surrounded by boutiques and small shops, on the side of the road. Annabeth nodded and pulled in to the parking lot. They both got out and shut their doors. Annabeth locked the car and they walked up to the café. Percy held the door open for her and she walked in. He followed her. The smell of fresh croissants and cupcakes filled the air. They saw an old lady standing behind the counter.

"Mmm…" Percy said looking over all of the food.

"Don't drool, seaweed brain." She teased. He stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed. They each picked what they wanted and went over to the cash register to pay. The lady smiled at them.

"I'll have a mince pie please." Percy said.

"And can I have the potato pie please." Annabeth ordered.

"Oh, and two blue vanilla cupcakes as well." Annabeth looked at him and laughed. The lady behind the counter smiled at them and grabbed their items. She bagged their food and placed them on the counter.

"That will be $17.50. Thanks." She said as Percy grabbed out his wallet and handed her the money.

"Thanks." Annabeth and Percy replied. They went and sat at one of the tables. The table had a red and white checked table cloth and the chairs where wooden with red and white pillows on them. They ate their pies in silence. Both lost in their own thoughts. Then Annabeth grinned and slyly grabbed the cupcakes. Percy suddenly looked at her.

"Oh, no you don't" He said grabbing her wrist. She laughed and pulled her wrist free. She got up and ran out the door. Percy got up and ran after her laughing. The old lady behind the counter smiled at them. Percy reached Annabeth just as she was opening the door. She grabbed her waist and pulled her backwards. He spun her around and grabbed the cupcakes off her. She laughed and he grinned triumphantly. They stood there together for a few minutes before he kissed her. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pulled him closer and his tightened on her waist. She reached back and grabbed the cupcakes before stepping back and laughing. He frowned.

"What about we just share them, one each?" She proposed lifting up her hand. Percy grinned and shook her hand. She reached into the bag and pulled out a cupcake for reach of them and gave him his. He took the wrapper off and bit into it. It was the fluffiest and most delicious cupcake he had ever had. He looked up at Annabeth and she laughed at the icing on his face.

"You have something on your face." She said in between her laughter. Percy grinned and raised an eyebrow. Then he leaned in and kissed her, getting icing all over her face.

"Eww… Percy!" She complained laughing. She wiped the icing off her face and finishing off her cupcake got in the car. Percy laughed and went around to his side of the car. He opened the door and got in. Annabeth started the car back up and drove back onto the road.


	3. California at last

_**Authors note: Please take the time to review it means a lot. Thanks to Drpend and Kara for reviewing. Thanks to Liveyourlifedancing, RandomBrandon, TeamJalec, Unknown and anonymous, Allen R, Nayaah, pytbarton, Candy 1928, ASlongaswe'retogether123 and Alaya Jackson for following. This may be the last update for at least 2 weeks as I will have no internet after this week. So this is next week's chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. **_

"Percy." Annabeth said. He looked over at her and frowned. She was biting her lip nervously.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked her curiously. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm worried about what might happen when we get to my dad's place." She admitted.

"You mean what might go wrong?" Percy asked. Annabeth nodded. "I thought you said things were going better with your dad." Annabeth sighed.

"I did and they are. It's just….Well, we have _already _run into a horde of Empousa and _we aren't even there yet_! I know he helped out with on Mt Tamalpais, but I still don't think he understands. " She exclaimed. Percy nodded.

"Don't worry, Wise girl. It will be o.k. The titan palace was destroyed so it will be no more dangerous than New York is for us. If we do see any monsters we can kill them without your family getting hurt of even finding out about them." Percy said. Annabeth stared at him in shock, which was ok as they had stopped at the lights.

"That's a really smart plan. I didn't know you had a brain in there, seaweed brain." She teased grinning. "I'm not sure if it will work, but we can at least try and keep them away from the house." Percy smiled back at her and nodded. After a few seconds he turned back to his window and watched the houses and trees flashed by. The sun was glaring down on the city, without a single cloud to dilute the harsh rays. He could see the heat waves rolling off the road in front of them. Annabeth took a right turn and slowed the car pulling up to the curb.

"Here it is." She said nervously looking over at Percy. The house itself was a white, modern, two story one with a small front lawn. The lawn had multiple trucks and toys strewn across it. Annabeth took a deep breath and looked over at Percy. He gave her an encouraging smile and she opened her door. Percy opened his door and walked around the back of the car. Annabeth opened the boot and grabbed her bag out. Percy grabbed his and an extra one. They walked up to the front door hand in hand. Annabeth rang the doorbell and they waited for a few moments in silence. Percy rubbed reassuring circles on the back on Annabeth's hand. The door opened and out stepped Mr Chase looking exactly as he had 2 years ago when Percy had come to 'borrow' his car. His aviator cap and goggle were both present, though not as startling as they had been the last time. Mr Chase smiled at them.

"Annabeth. You're here." He said bringing her forward into an awkward hug. Annabeth hugged him back and smiled softly. After a few moments she pulled back and smiled at her dad.

"Dad, this is Percy." She introduced him. Percy stepped forward and shook Mr Chase's hand.

"It's good to see you again sir." Percy said. Mr Chase looked closely at him and after a moment his eyes lit up in recognition.

"Ah, yes. I remember. Did you bring any more Celestial bronze for me to melt down?" He asked with a grin. Percy chuckled.

"A few." He said motioning towards his extra bag. Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "We told Chiron about the celestial bronze bullets your dad shot at Mount Tam and he suggested that we bring some old weapons and see what he could do with them. We iris messaged Mr chase during the summer, when you were doing blue prints for Mount Olympus." Percy explained. Mr Chase nodded along.

"Yes. Well come on in them." He said stepping back to let them in. Annabeth walked into the house and Percy followed. The house looked exactly the same, with LEGO pieces covering the white carpet floor and LEGO buildings in various stages of completion. It smelt of hot fudge brownie. They walked up the spiral staircase and down a short hallway, where they stopped at the first door on the right.

"This Is your room Percy." He said opening the door and gesturing inside. "Annabeth yours is the same as last time." Annabeth nodded and glanced at the door next to Percy's.

"I'll leave you two to get settled in then. I have to place my Russian World War 2 soldiers before Lunch." Mr Chase said with a grin. Percy and Annabeth smiled in return and watched walked down the hall and disappeared in the third, and last, room on the left.

"Do you want to unpack your stuff and then, I can give you a tour of the house?" Annabeth suggested. Percy nodded and let go of her hand. She kissed his cheek, then opening her door, disappeared into her room. Percy sighed and walked into his. The room had pale blue walls and light wood flooring. There was a single bed pushed up against the right wall and a built in wardrobe on the left wall. A mahogany desk and chair sat next to it with a huge window on the wall above it. The window looked out over back yard. Looking out the window Percy could see set of yellow and green swings and a sand pit, filled with sand bucket and shovels, below. Percy walked over to the bed and dumped his bags on the black duvet. He opened the bag and dumped all of his stuff on the bed. Sighing he began to pack it all into the drawers inside the wardrobe. There were a couple of coat hangers in the wardrobe already and Percy used these to hang his shirts. After he unpacked his bag he stowed the other one, filled with celestial bronze weapons, under the bed. He glanced quickly around the room to make sure he had put everything away and, satisfied, he left the room. As his door clicked shut he knocked on Annabeth's door.

"Just a minute Percy." She called through the door. Percy leant against the white wall and waited. A minute passed and Annabeth came out. She still had her camp half-blood t-shirt on with denim shorts and her hair long, blonde done up in a ponytail, but Percy thought she couldn't look any more perfect.

"Ready, seaweed brain?" She asked. Percy chuckled and nodded. He held his elbow up, like a southern gentlemen and laughing she took it.

"Where to my lady?" He asked keeping up the charade. Annabeth laughed again and pointed down the hall. Percy marched down the hall and as they passed the different doors Annabeth labelled them. The first door on the left was Bobbie's and the second one was Mathew's. The last one was her dad's study. On the left hand side was the guest bedroom, where Percy was staying. The second one was Annabeth's, when she stayed there and the last was her dad and step mother's room. They marched downstairs to the living room. They went through the yellow-cabinet kitchen and dining room, past the laundry room and bathrooms, and outside under the pergola were they sat down in matching red and white checked arm chairs. They sat in a content silence. Annabeth was thinking and drawing up in her mind plans for the buildings she hoped to put on Olympus and Percy was watching her, as thinking was not his strong point. Eventually though the silence was broken by Annabeth's step mother calling them in for lunch. They got up and walked back inside to the dining room, where the rest of Annabeth's family already sat.


	4. Birthday celebrations

_**AN: Thanks to Allen r and PJOWISEGIRLANDSEAWEEDBRAIN for reviewing. I wasn't going to update, but your reviews inspired me. Thanks. Please review. Btw if Annabeth's birthday IS mentioned in the book please say so .I'm sorry if the date is wrong.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**_

During the next few days Annabeth and Percy had settled into a routine of sorts at the Chase family house. They ate breakfast together with Annabeth's parents and had lunch with her step brothers. Then they would wonder around the neighbourhood killing any monsters within a 7 block radius, just to make sure, but today Percy had something different in mind. It was the 16th of June, Annabeth's birthday and Percy was determined for it to be her best birthday ever. Percy had gotten up early and was currently in the yellow cabinet kitchen cooking bacon and eggs.

"Ouch." Percy cursed as the spitting oil off the bacon hit his finger. He grabbed the tongs and flipped the bacon and used the spatula to flip the eggs.

"Creak," Percy turned around glancing at the stairs. He began to panic slightly. What if it was Annabeth? He thought. After a few tense moments her step mother walked through the archway.

"Good morning Percy," She greeted him. Percy looked up in relief and grinned at the women.

"Morning Mrs Chase." He said. She laughed and gestured towards the bacon and eggs that Percy was sliding onto a blue plate.

"What's that for?" She asked. Percy stared at her in disbelief.

"It's for Annabeth. Today's her birthday." He said explained cautiously. Mrs Chase paled slightly.

"It is?" She said softly and Percy could feel the small stings of anger at her for forgetting Annabeth's birthday take hold. Percy nodded. "Oh."

"Did you forget?" He asked. Mrs Chase nodded. Percy thought it over silently. He didn't want Annabeth to know that her step mother had forgotten her birthday. It might make their, already strained relationship worse. He sighed and grabbing the plates walked over to the table where Mrs Chase was sitting. He lowered his voice.

"I was going to take Annabeth to the lake around her. You could get her something while we are out." He suggested. Mrs Chase's face brightened and she smiled in relief.

"Thank you Percy." She said. Percy shrugged, smiled at her and left the room. He walked up the stairs and knocked on Annabeth's door.

"Come in," She called. Percy balanced the tray on his right arm and opened the door with his left. He grinned at Annabeth and she smiled back at him. She was lying in bed wearing her favourite grey singlet and owl pyjama shorts. She moved over to the right side of the bed and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Happy birthday Wise girl." He said setting the food and cutlery down on her lap. He sat beside her and rested against the headboard. Her room had a drawing table and a wardrobe on the left wall, with her grey bed spread, bed against the right wall. The wall on which Percy had a window; Annabeth had a huge, floor to ceiling bookshelf, which was crammed with books. What little of the walls Percy could see were a light grey and the floor was a creamy colour. The room screamed Annabeth and Percy could see her at the drawing table, sketching the temples and buildings for Mount Olympus. Annabeth's elbow nudged his stomach as she cut the bacon. Percy watched her as she ate in silence. They were just enjoying being together, alone. She dipped her bacon in the runny egg yolk and Percy wrinkled his nose. Annabeth noticed and frowned.

"What?" She asked. Percy shook his head in disgust.

"I can't believe you dip your bacon in egg yolk." He said. Annabeth laughed then cut off another piece, dipped it dramatically and put it slowly in her mouth, all the while keeping eye contact with Percy. She chewed slowly and he pretended to gag. She swallowed and laughed at him. He bumped his shoulder against hers. After she had finished eating, she looked over at him and stared into his eyes.

"Thank you Percy." She whispered seriously. Percy grinned and leaned over to kiss her. She twisted her torso and their lips met. Careful of the plates on her lap Annabeth leaned towards him and twisted her hands in his hair. Percy put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. The door opened, but they didn't notice until someone cleared their throat awkwardly. The couple parted and blushed. It was her step brothers, Bobby and Mathew.

"Happy birthday Annabeth," They shouted running over to the bed. They were grinning like crazy and Annabeth laughed. She reached over Percy and hugged them both.

"Thanks Bobby, Mathew." She said. The twins exchanged looks and Matthew pulled a small package out from behind his back.

"This is for you Annie-Beth," Bobby said. Annabeth grinned and grabbed the package. She tore open the wrapping and gasped. A small owl pendant hung off and a hand woven necklace that was 3 different shades of grey.

"It's beautiful." She said hugging them again. Her step brother smiled at her and turned for the door.

"We'll leave you two_ alone_." Bobby said emphasising the alone as he and his brother left the room. Annabeth blushed and looked down at the necklace. Annabeth pushed Percy lightly, but hard enough to make him fall out of the bed.

"What was that for?" He asked. She smiled down at him and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"I have to get up and get ready. I'll meet you out in the hall." She said placing her plates from her breakfast near him. He nodded and grabbed them. Standing up he pulled her into a hug.

"I'll meet you out in the hall." He agreed. He kissed her cheek and left the room. Annabeth stared after him smiling. She felt like this was going to be the best birthday ever.


	5. Grey Diamonds

**AN: Thanks so much for the review again this is what motivated me to write this chapter before I left. This chapter is dedicated to candy1928, PJOWisegirlandSeaweedBrain, candyrox8, allen r and book hugs for reviewing. Sorry it's such a short chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

She couldn't have been more wrong or more right.

Percy quickly slipped into his room and dove under his bed. He rummaged through the bag of celestial bronze weapons, pulled out the box and his mum's scarf he had borrowed for this occasion and slid the box into his jean's pocket. Tying the scarf around his wrist he slid back out and sat up.

"Ouch." He muttered under his breath as he felt the back of his head, which was throbbing slightly from him hitting it on the bed. Percy jumped back up and ran out of the room casually leaning against Annabeth's door. A second later, Annabeth opened her door and walked out.

"Hey Wise girl," Percy said. Annabeth grinned at him and he grinned back mischievously. Annabeth raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"Hey," She replied. Percy took her hand and started to pull her down the stairs. Annabeth laughed and tugged at her arm.

"Where are we going?" She asked. Percy glanced back and smiled that mischievous grin again.

"It's a surprise." He told her jumping down the last few stairs. Annabeth tripped slightly, but he caught her. He always caught her. Percy steadied her and gave her a peck on the lips. She smiled.

"You have to wear this," He said untying the scarf. Her smile fell and she frowned.

"Why?" Annabeth asked suspicious again. Percy just shook his head and tied the scarf around her eyes.

"It's a surprise." He told her. Annabeth sighed loudly and Percy laughed.

"I hate surprises." She muttered under her breath, which only made him laugh more. She felt the warmth of Percy's hand as he grabbed hers and led her to her surprise. She trusted Percy not to make her run into anything or trip over any of her step-brother's toys that were strewn across the room. She heard Percy open the front door and could soon feel the grass beneath her feet.

"Percy, I'm not wearing shoes." She called.

"That's o.k. You won't need them where we are going," He said. Annabeth shook her head mystified. Where could they go without her needing shoes? Then the grass beneath her feet gave way to mud and then air. They travelled in silence.

"We're here," Percy announced. He reached back and took her blind fold off. Light flooded her eyes and she blinked until they adjusted. The water around her and Percy's air bubble was strangely shadowed.

"Where is here exactly?" She asked. Percy gestured at the river around them.

"We're in the golden gate river." He laughed at her expression.

"What for?" She asked. Percy laughed and grabbed her hand. He propelled them out of the shadowed water and Annabeth saw the golden gate bridge hanging suspended above them. She gasped.

"This is amazing." She said. Percy nodded.

"That's not the best part." He said. "You know how the bridge lights up during the night?" Annabeth nodded, but she looked confused. "Well it also lights up in the fog."

Annabeth still stared at him confused. Percy lifted his arms and fog flew up from the river and completely surrounded the bridge. They waited a few minutes and then the lights flickered on and the bridge lit up. Even from Percy and Annabeth's, which was only a few hundred metres away from the bridge, bubble you could only see the lights. They shone in the fog like beacons. Annabeth stared at the bridge for a long moment in awe. Then she turned to Percy, who had a small box in his hand.

"Don't you want to build something like that?" He asked. Annabeth nodded. "Doesn't it look permanent?" He asked. She nodded again. Then he handed her the box.

"It's only a promise ring, but I know you want to build something permanent and so do I." He said to her. "And well, I love you and I want to know I can keep you." A tear slid out of the corner of Annabeth's eye and she opened the box. Nestled inside was a thin gold band with a small grey, diamond that sparkled up at her. She turned to face Percy tears pooring out of her eyes. Percy looked at into her eyes and watched them sparkle, like grey diamonds.

"I love you too." She said simply. His nervous face broke out into a huge, slightly silly grin and he pulled her to him. Crushing her against him. He kissed her as if it was the last kiss they would ever share. Her lips tasted slightly salty, because of her tears, and so did his. He broke away suddenly and pulled back enough that he could see her properly.

"Does this mean yes?" He asked. Annabeth nodded grinning.

"Yes seaweed brain. It does." She replied. They started kissing again.


	6. Iris messages

_**AN: Thanks to chicadiva75 and liveyourlifedancing for reviewing. Thanks for Pm-ing me Chicadiva75 I hope you don't mind being an Athena camper Chica.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**_

They walked out of the Golden gate river hand in hand, wearing ridiculously, happy grins on their faces. The diamond ring on Annabeth's hand sparkled and gleamed in the sunlight. The mist had disappeared long before. The couple walked up the bank and weaved between the houses, onto the street beyond.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked glancing over at him. Percy looked over at her smiling softly.

"Yeah," He prompted.

"Do you know the way back?" She asked her eyes dancing in amusement. Percy's face fell and he shook his head.

"I didn't think this far through." He said in dismay. Annabeth laughed lightly and squeezed his hand.

"Don't worry seaweed brain. We aren't in any hurry. Are we?" She raised her eyebrows. Percy shook his head again.

"Nah, as long as we make it back before 7 tonight." He said. She laughed.

"Another surprise?" Percy nodded at her. "And you're not going to tell me that surprise is, are you?" Percy shook his head laughing. They walked in silence for a while swinging their hands between them.

"Hey, Perce?" Annabeth began. He glanced over at her. "Do you think we could send Chiron and Iris message?" He nodded.

"Do you know where a fountain or something, near here, is?" He asked. Annabeth looked around them, finally taking in the surrounding houses and footpaths. She spotted a shopping mall ahead of them and pointed it out to Percy.

"There might be one in there." She suggested," And the mist should stop mortals from seeing us."

"Ok. Let's try it then." He said. They started to walk faster towards the shopping centre. The automatic doors glided open and they stepped into the refreshing, coolness of the centre. Annabeth looked around and spotted a map hanging on one of the walls nearby. She rushed over pulling Percy by the hand. They silently began searching the map for a fountain, they were in luck.

"There's one," Percy said pointing to the middle of the map where there was a big food court and in the middle was a fountain. Annabeth nodded and, gathering her bearings began to head towards the fountain. They passed clothes, phone and craft shops, but something felt off.

"This place doesn't feel right." Annabeth muttered. Percy nodded in agreement.

"Let's hurry."

Finally they emerged into an enormous food court. In the middle of all the chairs and table was a large, white fountain. The fountain itself had statues of women dancing, each holding a vase that spewed water. They wore draping Greek tunics with a bronze belt around their waist. There were five women in total, evenly spaced around the perimeter of the raise, circular base. The statue had a moat that was filled with shining silver and gold coins. Thankfully, above the fountain were large gold gilded windows which cast the fountain into dazzling sunlight. Percy turned the water to mist as Annabeth fished around in her pocket for a dracma. Triumphant Annabeth pulled the dracma out of her pocket and held it up.

"Oh, goddess except our offering. Chiron at Camp half-blood." She tossed the dracma into the mist which absorbed the dracma and shimmered. A moment later they could see Chiron and almost a dozen other campers. They were standing in the rec room shouting at each other. Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other.

"Oi!" Percy shouted. The campers and Chiron turned and stared at them. The campers all smiled grimly and Travis and Connor Stoll waved cheekily at them.

"Hello, Percy, Annabeth." Chiron greeted them sadly.

"What's wrong Chiron?" Annabeth asked. Chiron shook his head sadly.

"I am afraid one of our campers had been attacked just outside the camp boundaries." He explained.

"Yeah. The camper tried to leave two days ago. He had checked before he left to make sure there were no monsters around and walked out. Then out of thin air, a hydra appeared and attacked him. He killed the hydra, but was wounded." Chica, the Athena cabin head councillor explained. Annabeth nodded.

"Do we know why yet?" Annabeth asked momentarily forgetting her news. Chica shook her head.

"Do you want us to come back?" Percy asked. Clarisse stood up angrily.

"We don't need your help, Jackson." She sneered. Percy shook his head at her.

"Well how are you going to fix it then Clarisse?" He challenged her. Clarisse shook her head angrily and sat back down.

"We don't have a plan yet." Chica explained. "We don't even know why it's happening. Another camper tested it out yesterday and a dracnae popped up. After he killed that one another came." Annabeth shook her head.

"We'll leave tomorrow." Annabeth promised.

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. Annabeth nodded.

"We have to Percy. It's Camp." She said. Percy nodded and grabbed her hand.

"What is it that you wanted to tell us Annabeth?" Chiron asked. Annabeth grinned and raised her left hand, the grey diamond flashed in the sunlight.

"We're engaged." She announced. There was complete silence. Then the table burst out into cheers and wolf-whistles courtesy of Travis and Connor Stoll.

"Really?" asked Katie excitedly. Annabeth nodded.

"To Percy right?" Katie clarified. Annabeth laughed and nodded. "Just checking." Katie smiled at them.

""Did he ask mom?" Chica asked. Annabeth looked at Percy and he nodded.

"Yeah, I went up to Olympus before we left and asked her. I don't think she wants to kill me anymore." He announced cheerfully. The table laughed.

"Insert another dracma, for another minute." Iris sang. Annabeth fished in her pockets, but come back empty handed.

"We'll be at camp tomorrow night Chiron." Annabeth yelled as the image dissolved and the mist evaporated. They were left staring into the fountain at the glittering silver and gold coins. Annabeth cocked her head to the side. The gold coins where awfully large for mortal money. She reached in and pulled one out, shaking some of the water off it. She studied the coin carefully. The coin was faded, but able to be read. It was a golden dracma, the traditional currency, of the Gods.


	7. RUN!

_**AN: Stephenlongboard: Sorry, that was probably more of a one-time thing. I might be able to put you in there somewhere, but it will be just a small mention. **_

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Sorry about the late update. This story has gone so far off the original track. I don't even know where it is going anymore, so any suggestions would be great. Also because you all waited patiently for so long I have made the chapter an extra 300 words.**_

_**Disclaimer: PJO does not belong to me.**_

"Percy." Annabeth said slowly, grabbing Percy's arm.

"What?" He asked cautiously. She pointed at the drachmas in the fountain. Percy stared at the coins for a moment.

"Oh," he said reaching for riptide while Annabeth grabbed her dagger out.

"For a daughter of Athena, you are very ssssslow." A voice hissed behind them. They slowly turned in synchronisation. Behind them were a couple of dozen dracnae, half-snake women. They were all decked out in armour, covering their torsos. They had a mixture of bows, daggers and swords among them, each with a shield to accompany it.

"Oh, Gods." Annabeth whispered. There was no window to escape from this time. She looked up.

'Oh.' She thought. A strategy beginning to form in her mind. The dracnae closest to her followed her gaze.

"Close the windows!" She screeched at the other near her. The dracnae scrambled around frantically pulling levers and pushing buttons. Eerily, glowing celestial bronze sheets began to close off the windows, but that didn't matter because as soon as the dracnae were distracted Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm and began pulling him in the direction they had come in from. They slipped undiscovered from the room and ran. They knew that the dracnae would eventually discover that they had left, but they had a huge head start. As they ran Percy would recognise a shop here and there. They eventually reached the map that they had looked at earlier and stopped. Where the doors should have been was a creamy white wall that blended in perfectly with the rest of the wall.

"Oh, no." Annabeth whispered. They heard the faraway sounds of snakes hissing. "Quick hide."

They ducked into a clothing store and hid in the racks.

"O.k. What now?" Percy asked conscious of the ever growing louder hissing. Annabeth shook her head.

"There had to be a way to get out." She said.

"They might have split up. We can take them down as they come along." Percy suggested. Annabeth shook her head again.

"They might not have. We can't count on that." He face brightened. "Percy, the fire escape doors." Percy nodded.

"We passed one on the way here. It's not too far away." He said. They quickly looked through the clothes, and seeing the empty hallway, they slipped out of the store.

"Which way?" Annabeth asked. Percy pointed down the corridor, where Annabeth could see a bright red light, and they began to run towards it. They were halfway to the door when they noticed a couple of dracnae standing in front of it. Percy quickly pulled Annabeth into the nearest store.

"What now?" He asked. Annabeth frowned.

"Distract them," She said simply before pulling her magic Yankees hat out of her pocket and disappearing. He felt something touch his cheek and hear her whisper. "Good luck."

Percy left the store and walked calmly up to the dracnae guarding the door.

"Demigod," the one on the left hissed threateningly. Percy laughed and stood in front of her.

"What exactly are you?" he asked. "You can't be very dangerous if I've never heard of you."

The two dracnae hissed in outrage. "We are the dreaded Dracnae! No one is more dangerous than us." The one on the right snapped.

"Right, so which one of you is _the most dreaded _dracnae. It can't be both of you." He stated. The dracnae stared at him in surprise. Then they started to bicker.

"I'm the most dangerous dracnae there is!" The one on the left proclaimed.

"No, I am the most dangerous." The one on the right snapped back.

"On the count of three attack the one on the right." Annabeth whispered in Percy's ear. He nodded slightly and took out riptide. "One…two….three."

Percy uncapped riptide and slashed at the dracnae, while Annabeth invisibly impaled the other on her dagger. The dracnae wore identical expressions of surprise and they crumbled to dust. Annabeth took off her hat and the air shimmered. A second later she had reappeared and was standing next to the fire escape doors.

"Come on Percy. Let's get out of here." She said. He took her hand and she pushed the door open. The ear splitting scream that blasted out of the speakers had them running full pelt through the fire escape door and into the corridor that led to the outside world. They could see the door at the other end of the corridor, but they could also see the entrances to the other hallways that led to other fire escape doors. They started to run faster, the door was coming closer and closer. They weren't fast enough. The dracnae spilled out of the connecting hallways surrounding them entirely. They instinctively stood back to back each facing the enemy with their weapons pulled out. They stood in fighters stances.

"Kill them." The leading dracnae said. The twenty or so other dracnae surged forward in a wave with their weapons forgotten they clawed out at Percy and Annabeth. Percy swung his sword disintegrating the first row of dracnae. The next row advanced with more caution.

"Go towards the exit." Annabeth said in his ear. Percy nodded and headed towards the exit fighting off the monsters. There were about ten left when they finally reached the double doors and pushing them open they turned and sprinted out into the fresh air. The monsters followed them, but no longer confined in the hallway they ran faster. The dracnae eventually fell behind. A couple of them had picked up bows and were shooting at them, but most fell short. The hissing faded away, and they slowed down thinking they were in the clear. Until an arrow sliced into Annabeth's arm. She cursed and stumbled slightly.

"Annabeth, are you alright." Percy asked worriedly, she nodded and gripped her arm tightly, trying to staunch the blood flow.

"C'mon we have to run." She replied. They quickened their pace again and didn't stop until they had reached an area familiar to Annabeth.

"This way," She puffed pointing to an intersection in front of her. By now her arm had started to stop bleeding, but she looked extremely pale and was stumbling often. The sun was beginning to set when they reached Annabeth's house. They stopped running and walked up to the front door. Annabeth grabbed a key out of her pocket and slid it into the lock. She opened the door and walked over the threshold. Percy followed her into the house.

"Dad?" Annabeth called out. She was answered by silence.

"Maybe they went to the shops or something." Percy suggested.

"Maybe," Annabeth answered doubtfully. "Do you mind if we just stay here tonight? I'm buggered."

Percy nodded. "I'll go grab some nectar for your arm." He said before disappearing up the stairs and Annabeth sat down on the lounge. He returned a few moments later with the promised nectar and poured a little on her cut. The skin began to heal and Annabeth sighed in relief. The colour started to return to her face and Percy kissed her cheeks, helping it along before sitting down beside her. A blush covered her cheeks.

"What was that for Seaweed Brain?" She asked. Percy shrugged.

"What? I can't kiss my fiancé without a reason?" He asked innocently. Annabeth laughed and cuddled into him. He pressed his lips against her hair and pulled her closer to him. They just lay there content until eventually, they both succumbed to sleep.


	8. Demigod Dreams

_**AN: Hello again. Stephanlongboard I have put you in the story. I will probably not be adding anyone else unless they have been following the story and reviewing frequently.**_

_**I'm not sure what Annabeth should/ would do, so please comment with any suggestions.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**_

Annabeth was in a huge, brightly lit room, which greatly resembled a school gymnasium. She was hidden underneath the bleachers. Scanning the gym she realised three things simultaneously. The first; her dad, step mum and step brothers were all tied together, and gagged, underneath the basketball hoop at one end of the court. The second; at the other end of the basketball court were the surviving dracnae from the shopping centre earlier that day and a single Empousa. And lastly; her family were covered in bruises and scratches. Her father was by far in the worst condition as he looked like he had a broken ankle and a black eye as well as multiply bruises and scratches. Annabeth longed to run out to her father, but she knew she couldn't. This was a dream after all. So she crept along, under the bleachers, towards the dracnae. She could hear them hissing in delight.

"The tagging has gone well, my lady," One of the dracnae reported. The Empousa nodded.

"The girl was shot with an arrow, but otherwise they escaped harm," Another said. The Empousa scowled at her.

"And the other dracnae? I sent at least 40 of you." She asked scowling at the small number of dracnae present. They all shook their heads.

"This is all that survived the attack." She said. The Empousa roared and stomped her foot angrily. The metal let out a resounding metal clang as it hit the floor.

"They have gotten away AGAIN" She roared enraged. The dracnae shifted uncomfortably and shuffled back slightly. They slithered around nervously.

"What would you like us to do, my Lady," one of the braver dracnae asked timidly. The Empousa smiled at her coldly.

"Nothing, they will come to us. Either her family survives or her camp does." She smiled. The dream began to fade around the edges and pull back. Annabeth looked around her, but saw no one.

"What will you choose young demigod?" A women voice whispered in her head. Then the scene changed. She stood on half-blood hill looking over the valley below her. The camp looked fine physically, but she could see how the campers glanced nervously at Thalia's pine tree that stood proudly near her. The dragon was still curled up around it and the Golden Fleece still shimmered in its branches. The tree looked healthy and the valley was safe. So what was wrong? Then her and Percy's conversation with the cabin counsellors flooded back into her head. No demi-god could leave the camp without immediately summoning a monster. Annabeth frowned. Maybe this had something to do with 'the tagging' the dracnae where talking about. There had been a huge number attack her and Percy recently. Had they all been tagged? It sounded ridiculous, even in her own head, but she couldn't help, but wonder if it was true. What did it mean for her and the other campers? A small movement on the edge of the hill caught her eye. The flash of an orange camp half-blood t-shirt startled her into action. She ran towards the person. It was Stephan from the Ares cabin. He ran towards the boundary as if expecting to get caught. Warily he looked back over his shoulder and kept going. He crossed the boundary line and stood there momentarily shocked. He had obviously been expecting a monster to pop up and attack him. None did. Disappointed Stephan jabbed his sword into the air and sliced it wildly. Annabeth inched closer. Then she heard a weird popping noise. Stephan had heard it too as he turned towards the noise. Five hellhounds shimmered into existence, not ten metres from where Stephan stood. He called a battle cry and ran towards the first monster slicing at it. The hell hound shimmered into dust, just as the next one launched itself at him. Stephan ducked and rolled swinging his sword into the legs of another hell hound. The second hell hound turned to dust. There were three left and Stephan smiled confident. The hell hounds growled at him and started to circle him. Then, as if on command, they all ran towards him at the same time. Stephan jumped and they collided. One disappeared into the wind and Stephan landed on another. He sliced at it and watched its glowing red eyes crumble. He yelled in victory momentarily losing his focus. The last hell hound hit his back, hard and knocked him to the ground. It tore at Stephan's flesh and Annabeth screamed. Blood stemmed from the wound and as the hell hound prepared for the final kill an arrow stabbed its back. The hound looked up in surprise before fading away. Stephan moaned and Annabeth looked up in surprise at the new comer. It was Will Solace from the Apollo Cabin. He had his bow in hand and another arrow notched in it. The scene disappeared.

Annabeth blinked slightly disoriented. She sighed realising she was at her dad's house and she was currently laying on the lounge in the living room. The lounge moved and Annabeth froze. She cautiously looked underneath her and relaxed. It was just Percy. She suddenly remembered falling asleep on the lounge the night before with Percy. Then she remembered her dreams.

"Percy." She said shaking him. He groaned and swatted her hand away. "Percy." She said more urgently. His eyelids opened slowly.

"What is it Wise Girl?" He asked. He looked so adorable with sleep coating his eyes that she laughed and leaned down to kiss him. Then she frowned.

"Percy. I have to tell you something." She said. Percy sat up quickly, almost knocking her off the lounge.

"What?" He asked cautiously. She told him about the dream and his face got graver with every word she said. When she finished she sat there in silence looking down at her hands.

"So what do you think we should do?" He asked. Annabeth looked up at him and stared into his sea green eyes.

"I don't know." She said quietly.


	9. Bow and arrows

_**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Thanks to everyone who reviews regularly. The last upload got about 4 reviews, which is amazing. This story now has 2 whole Pages of Reviews now! Please review, it means a lot to me.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not now PJO.**_

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. Annabeth bit her lip and nodded.

"I'm sure. From what I saw last night we are going to need more campers to help get them out anyway because of all of the monsters there." Annabeth stated. Percy smiled at her and lifted their bags into their car. He shut the boot and walked around to the passenger's side of the car. Opening the door, he hesitated.

"Do you want to drive, or do you want me too?" Percy offered. Annabeth sighed.

"You can." She said getting into the car. Percy nodded, shut her door and got into his side of the car. Percy stepped into the car and started the ignition. He looked over at Annabeth, studying her face.

"What's your plan Wise girl?" He asked, driving into the middle of the road.

"Well I was thinking that since the Empousa said that the other demigods where tagged we need to figure out how they got tagged. It must have been something they do or have at camp and not anywhere else, or we would have been tagged. We just need to figure out what that was exactly." She explained. Percy smiled and nodded at her.

"Any ideas?" He asked. Annabeth nodded.

"Yeah, a few actually. I was thinking that maybe it was the food they eat there." She said. Percy raised an eyebrow at her briefly before turning back to the road before them. They drove for a while in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Percy suddenly swerved to the left and slammed on the gas and the car shot forward again. He carefully swerved around the cars, as they honked at him.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked in alarm.

"Monsters." He replied grimly. She nodded and looked in her revision mirror. There were two Empousa gaining on them in their own car and a huge, adult Cyclops, constantly bumping into other cars. Annabeth's face lit up and she unbuckled her seat belt.

"Annabeth, What are you doing?" Percy asked momentarily glancing over at her. Annabeth squirmed into the back of the car and pulled down the middle seat, revealing the trunk of the car. She reached in and blindly searched around for Percy's extra bag.

"Aha!" She yelled in triumph pulling the bag onto the backseat next to her. Annabeth rifled around in the bag and pulled out a bow and some arrows. She flung the bow and arrows onto the front seat and crawled after them. Percy glanced at the weapons and grinned before cursing and narrowly avoiding smashing into another car. Annabeth buckled her seat belt and wound down the window. She thrust the bow out and notched an arrow. Taking aim, she fired it at one of the Empousa and watched as it sailed through the wind shield and, the monster disappeared into dust. The other Empousa snarled and gunned the engine. Annabeth notched another arrow, but this time at the Cyclops. It cracked the wind shield and sliced open his arm. The Cyclops let out a wail and disappeared. His car swerved wildly across the road before running into another car and sending them both into a tree on the side of the road. Annabeth barely spared the Cyclops's car a glance before notching another arrow. She fired, but missed, hitting the wheels of another car instead. The tires let out a squeal and the car spun out of control into the Empousa's car, clipping the tail lights. The Empousa growled and sped her car up. The traffic was beginning to thin and their car stopped weaving. Percy gunned the engine and the car shot forward. The road was almost empty, when Annabeth felt a feeling of dread in her stomach. Moments later she heard the tell-tale signs of police cars.

"Oh no." Annabeth whispered. She needed to take out the last Empousa before the police showed up. She reached for another arrow, but there wasn't one. Cursing she reached backwards and pulled the bag of weapons onto her lap. She searched the bag. There were no ore arrows. Her hand came in contact with the sharp edge of a knife and she pulled it out. Shrugging, as if to say 'why not?' she pulled the knife out and leaned out the window. The Empousa's car was less than two metres from the back of theirs and she took aim. The knife flew through her fingered and slice through the already cracked wind shield. Annabeth held her breath. The knife lodged in the Empousa's forehead and then dropped onto the seat as she exploded into dust. The car tires squeal and it slid across the pavement towards them. It turned blocking the road, flipped and came to a stop, effectively blocking off the police cruisers that were coming into view. They skidded to a stop and Annabeth sighed in relief.

"Thank Gods." She muttered. Percy grinned at her.

"Nice knife throwing skills Wise Girl." He said. She laughed and swatted his arm.

"We ran out of arrows." She explained. Percy laughed and grabbed her hand. He traced the back of it and Annabeth relaxed into the seat.

"Hopefully, that's the last monsters we have to see before camp." Percy said. Annabeth hit him again.

"Good work Seaweed brain, you've just jinxed us." She said with a frown, but then laughed and squeezed his hand softly. "Seaweed brain."

"I may be a Seaweed brain, but at least I'm _YOUR_ Seaweed brain." Percy said. Annabeth looked over at him and burst out laughing.

"That was so cheesy." He just looked at her. "But also very true and I wouldn't want it any other way." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Percy blushed slightly and smiled.


	10. Returning home

_**AN: OMG the big 1 oh. The tenth chapter is finally here. Please review. I am hoping for at least 3 reviews for this chapter. Thanks to Allen r and stephanlongboard for reviewing so fast. I really appreciate it.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**_

They sprinted up the hill, gasping and panting.

"Come on Percy!" Annabeth breathed. Percy just nodded. They had been running for 2 miles already and Percy was now constantly tripping over his own feet. They were metres from the boundary line when Percy fell flat on his face. The hell hound stood atop him growling menacingly. Annabeth drew her dagger and stabbed its face. The monster disappeared and Percy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Annabeth." He said getting to his feet.

"Percy look out!" Annabeth yelled. Percy spun around swinging his sword wildly, disintegrating an Empousa. The hell hounds attack had given the other monsters time to catch up to them and they were now encircled by various monsters. There was a circle of hellhounds, a circle of Empousa, a Cyclops or two and a single dracnae. Cut off from camp Percy and Annabeth stood back to back and attacked. Soon the air was filled with dust as monsters disintegrated. A horn sounded and Percy and Annabeth looked up startled. The entire Apollo cabin was standing on the hill above them; every one of them was armed with a bow and arrow. Not a single camper had stepped a foot over the boundary line. The arrows came streaming towards them and Percy activated his watch shield. He and Annabeth ducked behind it as the arrows hit their targets. After a minute or so they emerged from behind the shield and saw that every monster was gone. Wasting no time they hurried up the hill and crossed the boundary line. The campers all surrounded them and started talking at once.

"What's going on?"

"Why can't we leave camp without being attacked?"

"Why were there so many monsters, this time?"

Annabeth cleared her throat and the talking stopped.

"We don't know yet, but that's why we're here. Where's Will?" She asked the campers. One of the girls stepped forward.

"Will and the other cabin leaders are in the big house." She said. Annabeth nodded and grabbed Percy's hand.

"Come one Seaweed brain. We need to go to the big house, now." She muttered pulling him towards the big house. Percy stumbled along. He looked around at the camp. Everything was still how it should be. No cabins on fire, no buildings destroyed or even monsters out of the forest. He sighed and tried to shake off the feeling that something was out of place. Annabeth opened the front door and walked through into the main room. She could hear shouting from, she assumed, the rec room, where the meeting was being held. Tugging Percy along she walked over and into the rec room. The campers fell silent and the arguing stopped.

"Welcome back Annabeth, Percy." Chiron smiled warmly at them.

"About time you two showed up." Clarisse snapped. "What took you so long?"

"We were in California." Percy replied. He sat down at the Poseidon cabin chair while Annabeth sat on the arm. Chiron smiled.

"Well, you're here now. Annabeth I assume you have a theory as to why campers can't leave without a monster showing up?" Chiron asked. Annabeth nodded grimly.

"We believe that all demigods have been tagged. The ones that have been the most effected, by the tagging, are the more powerful ones and the campers." Annabeth suggested.

"How could we have been tagged and not know?" Travis Stoll asked.

"We believe that it has to be something at camp that tagged us. Whether it was in the food or even just slathered on the rock climbing wall." Annabeth theorized. Travis nodded.

"But you two have been away for weeks and you seem to have attracted the largest number of monsters." Connor Stoll argued. Percy nodded, but Katie answered.

"Think about it, Connor. They're the most powerful demigods out there. They defeated Kronos!" Katie explained. Annabeth sighed.

"Why do people keep brining that up?" She asked. Percy laughed and gently shoved her. She shoved him back and before anyone knew it they were in the middle of a shoving war. Annabeth almost tipped over the chair before they realised that the other cabin leaders were staring at them with a mixture of amused to annoyed faces. They both blushed.

"Back to the point here." Clarisse snapped. "So you think that we have all been 'tagged'. What does that even mean?"

"It means that whenever a camper is out of the boundary lines every monster will be attracted towards them. " Annabeth explained. Clarisse nodded.

"Why do you think that?" Rachel Dare asked. Annabeth smiled at her, then frowned and told the other demigods about her dream. She left out the part about her family being in trouble and the strange voice she had heard in her head. After she was done the other campers immediately began to talk. Annabeth ignored them all and turned to Percy. He smiled at her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. Annabeth smiled back and slid closer to him. He leaned towards her ear and whispered.

"Are you going to tell them about your dad?" He asked. She shook her head. Then her eyes suddenly lit up and she turned towards Chiron.

"Have any new campers arrived yet?" She asked him. Chiron studied her face and nodded.

"Yes. There have been three new campers this week. They and the satyr accompanying them arrived safely." He told her. She nodded back at him thinking.

"Have you heard from any of the demigods that go home for the school year?" She asked. Shiron nodded again.

"Yes. I Iris-messaged them yesterday and they weren't having any problems." Chiron said. Annabeth's brow creased.

"What cabins were they from?" She asked. Chiron frowned slightly.

"The four campers were from the Hecate, Nemesis, Hypnos and Nike cabins. What are you thinking child?" He prompted. Annabeth frowned.

"They must only be targeting camp and the more powerful and well known demigods first." Annabeth stated. "Have you spoken to any of the huntresses of Artemis lately?"

Chiron shook his head. "We have not spoken to the huntresses lately. They do not keep in regular contact with this camp." Annabeth nodded.

"Maybe they have been tagged as well." Annabeth offered. Chiron shook his head.

"Artemis herself prepares their food. I'm sure she would have noticed anything amiss." He said.

"So we're tagged. What do we do about it?" Katie asked. Annabeth sighed.

"I don't know." She said. Percy hugged her and she smiled at him. "Maybe my siblings can help. I'll go see them now."

She stood up and left the room. Percy sighed and watched her.

"Percy, Can I have a word." Chiron asked wheeling himself out of the room. Percy nodded and followed him out. Once out on the balcony Chiron turned to face him.

"Is there something more to Annabeth's dream?" He asked. Percy bit his lip and hesitated.

"I don't think that Annabeth wants to share." He said. Chiron frowned, but nodded.

"Congratulations Percy." He said. Percy stared at him mystified and Chiron chuckled.

"On your engagement with Annabeth," He explained. Percy grinned.

"Thanks sir." He said. "I'll go find her now."

Percy ran off towards the Athena cabin and Chiron watched him, smiling softly to himself.


	11. Madness

AN: 3 WHOLE PAGES OF REVIEWS! Thank you so much, especially to Allen r, stephanlongboard and thalicoinmordor for reviewing almost every chapter. It's amazing and inspiring. Sorry about the lateness of this chapter I have just been bombarded with assignments and it completely slipped my mind.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.

"Annabeth Chase." Percy yelled through the door. "Either you open this door or I will force my way in."

He heard voices murmuring from inside followed by the shuffling sound of feet. A second later the door opened, revelling Allen one of Annabeth's half- brothers.

"Come in," He sighed opening the door wider. Percy smiled and walked into the Athena cabin. It was just like it had been when Percy was last in there, except this time it looked like a hurricane had hit it.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked cautiously. She turned around on her chair and Percy stepped back startled. Her normally sane looking grey eyes were now a light blue colour that looked half crazed.

"Annabeth?" Percy tried again. He started to walk towards her. Then she let out a bloodcurdling scream and lurched forward. She fell off her chair and onto the floor in a heap. Percy ran towards her and pulled her up. Her head lolled towards him and he hugged her tightly.

"It's alright, Wise girl." He comforted her. She just sobbed louder.

"Make it go away Percy. Help me." She begged in between sobs. Percy just rubbed her back and murmured comforting words in her ear. He turned to the rest of the Athena campers.

"What do I do?" He mouthed to the nearest one. They shook their head. The Athenians started to whisper. Allen stepped forward.

"She needs to be distracted." He announced. Percy nodded and pulled Annabeth off his shoulder.

"Annabeth, spiders. There are spiders crawling up your arms." He said. Annabeth jerked and screamed again. "It's not working." Percy announced bordering on hysteria now.

"Try something else." Allen suggested. Percy nodded and gathering his courage, he WAS in the Athena cabin after all, and kissed her. Annabeth froze, blinked and started to cry. He pulled her towards him again and murmured soothing words in her ear. Eventually her tears subsided and she pulled back from him. He stared into her, now grey again, eyes and touched her cheek. She leaned into his palm and sighed.

"Percy I….Well I found an old book that could help the camp." She admitted. He nodded, confused. "Those books, well their actually records…well they…..they made me see things, horrible things Percy, but I know we need to be able to read what's in that book."

Percy nodded. "How do you think we could do that? Without someone, you know," He trailed off. Annabeth shook her head sadly.

"I don't know." She admitted. "Wait. How many campers are there in the Dionysus cabin?"

"Twelve." Someone called out. Annabeth nodded and grabbed Percy's hand. She began to lead him out of the cabin when she paused. Grabbing a t-shirt out of her trunk she carefully wrapped the book in the shirt and picked it up. She looked over the cabin and sighed.

"Don't worry Annabeth. We can clean it up." Chica offered. Annabeth smiled gratefully at her and left the cabin with Percy. They walked across to the Gods side and up the stairs of the Dionysus cabin. Annabeth bit her lip and glanced at Percy. He nodded encouragingly at her and knocked on the door. There was a shuffle of feet and the door opened.

"Hello?" A small girl asked. Annabeth smiled at the camper.

"Hi. Is Pollux here?" She asked the girl. The girl nodded and opened the door. Annabeth and Percy walked into the heavily vine decorated cabin and looked around them. The room had six bunk beds each with vines curling around the frames. The walls were covered in trellises, also covered in grape vines. The air smelt of grapes and, strangely enough, diet coke. Pollux sat on the floor, in the middle of the room, meditating. The vines curled around him and where raised in collums that appeared to be supporting the roof.

"Pollux?" Annabeth asked stepping forwards. Pollux opened his eyes and started at her.

"Hey Annabeth, Percy." He said smiling at them. He stood up and walked over to them. "Why are you here?"

"We found this book, that might be helpful, for the camp problem. The problem is that when I tried to read the book, as soon as I touched it, I….well went mad." She explained holding out the book carefully. "We thought that you may be able to help since Dionysus is the God of madness as well."

Pollux nodded and grabbed the book from her. He unwrapped the t-shirt and opened the cover. Annabeth held her breathe and cringed slightly into Percy's side. He wrapped an arm around her waist. They waited. Nothing happened for a while as Pollux studied the pages.

"Yeah, I can't read this." He announced studying the pages.

"Why not?" Percy asked. Pollux shrugged.

"It's in Latin. I can't read Latin." He told them. Annabeth and Percy exchanged a glance.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Pollux nodded.

"Yeah, I think one of my half-siblings Stephan can though. He's a new camper, got here yesterday actually. You should ask him." Pollux suggested, wrapping the book back up in the t-shirt. Annabeth grabbed it and nodded.

"Thanks anyway." She said. "Will Stephan be immune to the madness as well?"

Pollux grinned maniacally, "Yeah, everyone from the Dionysus cabin is already a little bit mad."

Annabeth laughed and thanked him again. Then she and Percy left the cabin and headed back up to the big house.

"What now?" Percy asked. Annabeth shrugged.

"I guess all we can do now is find this Stephan camper and see if he can read it." She said. Percy stared at her. "what?"

"You're amazing, Wise girl," Percy told her. Annabeth blushed and pushed his shoulder.

"You're not too bad yourself seaweed brain." She laughed. Percy grinned and kissed her cheek.


	12. Bonfires

_**AN: Sorry this one is a short chapter. Please review. Thanks to everyone that reviewed.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**_

"Percy! I'm so glad I found you." Katie Gardner called out. Percy and Annabeth paused as Katie caught up to them.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked. Katie came to a stop in front of them panting.

"Travis 'pant' got stuck 'pant' in lake." She managed. Annabeth and Percy exchanged an confused glance. Annabeth shrugged and turned back to Katie.

"Take a deep breath and explain what happened." Annabeth suggested. Katie nodded and took a deep breath.

"Travis and I were swimming in the lake, when his foot got caught on the seaweed. At first I thought he was joking, he IS a Stoll. So I left him to it, but after a few minutes I realised that he was being serious and so I swam over to help him. I tried to cut the seaweed with my sword when this shark swam up to us. I don't even know how a shark could get in a lake. So I started to cut the seaweed faster, but it wasn't cutting and Travis told me to come and get someone to help him. So I swam over to the edge of the lake and got out. I ran towards the big house, to get Chiron, and I found you guys instead. Can you help Percy?" Katie explained in a rush.

"Right." Percy said slowly. He looked at Annabeth and she nodded.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked. Percy shook his head.

"No. You have to go find Stephan. I'll help Travis." He said. Katie exhaled in relief. Percy smiled at Annabeth and ran towards the Lake, Katie on his heels. Annabeth shook her head indulgently at him and smiled. She watched Percy leave for a couple of seconds before she turned on her heel and headed towards the big house. A couple of campers called out and waved on her way. She smiled at them and waved back. As she walked she noticed the huge amount of new campers that had appeared over the month or so they'd been gone. There were about triple the amount of campers then there had been during the last summer and some of the cabins where reaching maximum capacity. They had been going over designs for second floors and room extensions for the cabins. She walked up the big house stairs and stepped onto the front porch. Annabeth pushed open the door and stepped into the big house. She glanced around for Stephan, a new Dionysus camp. Sighing, she noted the empty room and sat in one of the chairs to wait for Chiron or Stephan to show up. She began to go over her theories for the camp 'tagging' in her head. She had barely been sitting for more than five seconds when she heard campers urgently calling her name.

"What now?" She thought frustrated. Annoyed at having her thoughts interrupted she ignored them. The voices came closer and louder. She sighed and coughed slightly. Standing, she walked to the window and looked out. The Big house was on fire. The entire porch was lit up like a bonfire and she gasped. Smoke was seeping in under the door and she coughed. Annabeth ran towards the back door and looked out. The back of the porch was on fire as well. She was trapped. She ran back to the front door hoping that she might be able to run quickly through the fire. By this time the walls had caught on fire as well and the smoke was entering her lungs. Annabeth gripped the t-shirt covered book to her chest and ran upstairs. She entered one of the rooms that was facing the lake and ran to the window. She threw it opened and looked down. Below her the porch was on fire and so where the walls. She coughed and scanned the grass near her. Several campers had gathered around the big house.

"Percy!" She screamed at the campers choking. She pointed to the lake. "Percy! Get Percy!" The campers all scattered, some ran towards the lake and others ran towards the beach, hopefully to find Percy. Annabeth went back into the hallway and ran towards the bathroom. She turned on the tap and left. Running down the stairs she saw that almost all of the furniture had caught on fire. She dodged the flaming furniture and ran towards the kitchen. She turned on the tap and started to fill glasses with water. She tossed the water at the fire on the door and it slowly went out. She sighed in relief before being overcome with a coughing fit. The fire was burning her and the smoke filling her lunges. She staggered towards the stairs and gripped the railing. She took the stairs slowly one at a time. Her head was getting hazy. Three steps left, two steps left, one. She tripped and collapsed on the landing of the second floor. She could feel the heat of the fire next to her arm and the precious book clutched in her hands, through the thin t-shirt. She could hear a strange ringing noise in her ears and her eyes blurred. Then suddenly she was drenched in water.

"Percy." She murmured softly before she lost consciousness.


	13. Seaweed and Travis

_**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and followed the story. One more review and this story will have 4 pages of them. YAY!**_

_** Stephenlongboard you are a camper from the Ares cabin. I needed a reckless and bloodthirsty camper. Sorry if it is a problem. I'm glad you noticed though you have reviewed to a lot of these chapters so thank you.**_

_**BTW The start may sound the same as the last chapter because it is. This is what happened to Percy.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**_

"Percy! I'm so glad I found you." Katie Gardner called out. Percy and Annabeth paused as Katie caught up to them.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked. Katie came to a stop in front of them panting.

"Travis 'pant' got stuck 'pant' in lake." She managed. Annabeth and Percy exchanged an confused glance. Annabeth shrugged and turned back to Katie.

"Take a deep breath and explain what happened." Annabeth suggested. Katie nodded and took a deep breath.

"Travis and I were swimming in the lake, when his foot got caught on the seaweed. At first I thought he was joking, he IS a Stoll. So I left him to it, but after a few minutes I realised that he was being serious and so I swam over to help him. I tried to cut the seaweed with my sword when this shark swam up to us. I don't even know how a shark could get in a lake. So I started to cut the seaweed faster, but it wasn't cutting and Travis told me to come and get someone to help him. So I swam over to the edge of the lake and got out. I ran towards the big house, to get Chiron, and I found you guys instead. Can you help Percy?" Katie explained in a rush.

"Right." Percy said slowly. He looked at Annabeth and she nodded.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked. Percy shook his head.

"No. You have to go find Stephan. I'll help Travis." He said. Katie exhaled in relief. Percy smiled at Annabeth and ran towards the Lake, Katie on his heels. They ran over the top of a small hill and looked down into the lake. Percy chuckled. Travis Stoll was chin deep in the water struggling to stay afloat. He was using his free leg and hands to keep his head above the water. Katie immediately ran down the hill towards Travis and Percy, still chuckling softly followed her. She stopped at the water's edge and Percy turned to face her.

"Aren't you coming?" He asked. She looked down nervously.

"I... Yeah alright, but if another shark comes along you're dealing with it." She said. Percy laughed and started towards Travis. Travis looked exhausted from swimming in the same spot for so long. He spotted Percy and grinned at him.

"Hey, Percy." He called trying to wave. Percy laughed and waved back.

"What's up Travis?" Percy called back. Travis grimaced and opened his mouth to reply. Before he could speak Travis' head disappeared under the water. Percy and Katie surged forward, but it felt like they were walking through quicksand. Katie quickly fell behind as Percy surged on.

"Come on Katie." He called back to her. Katie groaned.

"I can't. I'm stuck." She called back. Percy turned around to face her and saw the seaweed trapping her legs. "Go help Travis."

Percy nodded and swam towards him. The closer Percy got the thicker the water became until he was struggling against it. Finally he reached Travis and pulled Riptide out. The blade formed and Percy slashed at the weeds that bound Travis. The seaweed loosened and Percy pulled Travis back up to the surface. Travis coughed and spluttered.

"You alright?" Percy asked. Travis coughed and gave him a thumbs up. "Can you swim?"

Travis shook his head glancing behind Percy. Travis's eyes widened. "Percy. Not to be alarming or anything, but there a shark right behind you."

Percy cursed. He turned around and spotted the shark. It was a metre long hammer head. Percy laughed and patted its head. "Hey buddy." He said with a laugh.

"Ah Percy?" Travis said. Percy turned back to him and the shark nuzzled Percy's leg. Travis pointedly looked down at their legs. Percy followed his gaze and saw that they were both trapped by seaweed. Percy sighed and pulled riptide out again slashing at the seaweed he cut them both free and threw Travis up on his shoulder. He began to drag him out of the water. The water had started to thin as soon as Percy had cut the seaweed from their legs.

"What are you doing?" Travis yelled. Percy shrugged.

"You said you couldn't swim. So I thought I'd carry you instead." Percy laughed. Travis groaned. Then he spotted Katie.

"Katie!" Travis called. Katie looked up at them and gestured frantically at her legs, which were by now covered in seaweed up to her knees. "Percy, we have to help Katie."

Percy nodded and swam over to Katie. The water was thickening again and Percy struggled towards Katie. He reached her and set Travis down in the water.

"Keep moving." Percy instructed. "Or the seaweed will trap you again." Travis nodded and started to swim around Katie cutting her bindings carefully with Katie's knife, which he had swiped from her pocket.

"Travis Stoll! Is that my knife?" Katie demanded. Travis looked guilty.

"It might be." He admitted. Katie sighed.

"How many times have I told you NOT to steal my stuff?" She demanded. Travis grinned.

"Fifty three." He said cheerfully before going back to cutting the seaweed. Katie sighed and swatted his head. Travis dodged the hit and severed the last binding. Travis grinned.

"There you go Malady." Travis said bowing. Percy chuckled.

"Let's get back to the beach shall we? Before someone else gets trapped." He suggested. Travis and Katie nodded and ran towards the shore.

"Thanks Percy." Katie said. Travis grinned at him and Percy sighed.

"I would like my wallet back Travis." Percy stated. Travis held it out and grinned mischievously. Katie smacked his head and Travis whimpered.

"What was that for Katie-flower?" Travis demanded. Katie glared at him.

"Percy! Percy!" Someone called. Percy scanned the beach and spotted a dozen campers all running along the shore.

"Yeah?" He called back. The campers ran towards him and stopped in front of him.

"Annabeth, fire, Big House." The kid panted. Percy's eyes glowed and he lifted his arms up. Suddenly the whole lake was afloat.

"Whoa." The kid breathed. "Cool."

The body of floating water sped towards the Big House and Percy walked after it. The water hovered over it for a second and Percy dropped his arms. The lake exploded over the big house drenching it. The fire went out and the smoke began to clear. Percy ran towards the big house and slammed the door open.

"Annabeth?" He called. "Annabeth?"

Percy glanced around the room. He couldn't see her. "Annabeth?" Percy called urgently. He searched the lounge and kitchen area, but he still couldn't find her. Percy ran his hands through his head desperately. "Annabeth?" He heard coughing and ran towards it. On the second floor landing was a mop of curly blonde hair. Percy ran up the stairs and picked Annabeth up cautious of the book she was still holding. He sighed in relief and carried her outside. She stirred and Percy softly laid her down on the grass. He glanced up at the assembled campers.

"Can one of you get Will please? Will Solace?" He asked. The campers nodded and hurried off. "Annabeth? Can you hear me? Please don't be dead."

He heard a weak chuckle and saw Annabeth's beautiful grey eyes open. "And leave you to save the camp on your own? Not likely." She said. Percy laughed and touched her face. She leaned into his palm.

"Don't ever do that to me again Wise girl." He said. She laughed.

"I won't" She promised.


End file.
